Is it fall yet?

20 Monday Sep 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Dessert, Entertaining, Food

Tags

When typing this title I had to smile because it reminds me of the classic whine of a child regarding lots of things but mainly car rides, “are we there yet?” I feel a little like a child in anticipation of the upcoming season—fall.

So, this past weekend, to busy myself in an effort to make the time go by more quickly I decided to prepare a new dessert (new to me) that I found on Epicurious. If you like to cook you will enjoy this site—one of my favorite features is that when you read a recipe if there are any reviews, and there usually are, you can find out what the other cooks found, tips, changes, etc. The recipe was first published in Gourmet magazine in 1997.

Caramelized Upside-Down Pear Tart. (Full disclosure: This photo was from the Epicurious site.

Caramelized Upside-Down Pear Tart

Dessert (Originally in Gourmet Magazine, November 1997)

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Ingredients – serves 8

1 pie crust (can be made or frozen; if frozen, thaw first OR you can use frozen puff pastry, thawed)

Filling:

4 large firm-ripe Bosc pears (2 pounds total)
½ stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation Instructions – Preheat oven to 425°

Peel and halve pears, the core (preferably with a melon-ball cutter). Heat butter in a 9- to 10-inch well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then stir in sugar (sugar will not be dissolved). Arrange pears, cut sides up, in skillet with wide parts at rim of skillet. Sprinkle pears with cinnamon and cook, undisturbed , until sugar turns a deep golden caramel. (This can take as little as 10 minutes or as much as 25, depending on pears, skillets and stove.) Cool pears completely in skillet.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round and trim to a 9 ½ to 10 ½ inch round. Arrange pastry over caramelized pears, tucking edge around pears inside rim of skillet. Bake tart until pastry is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Cook on rack 5 minutes.

Invert rimmed serving plate (slightly larger than skillet) over skillet and , using pot holders to hold skillet and plate tightly together, invert tart onto plate. Serve tart warm or at room temperature.

This would be a great recipe to entertain with because you could bake it just before your guests arrive (what a wonderful scent) and then serve it room temperature.

Wedding in the wine country

17 Friday Sep 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Drink, Food

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Napa, St. Helena, vineyards

As I may have mentioned HERE, we were invited to a wedding of the son of dear friends we’ve known since we were first married—37 years ago. Have I mentioned I was a child bride? {smile}.

There were 2 other couples (close friends) invited to Jeff & Allison’s wedding and we decided to rent a house rather than stay in a hotel. The wedding was over Labor Day weekend and we knew Napa Valley would be teaming with wine enthusiasts and other vacationers.

On the other side of the pool is Robert Mondavi vineyards.

One of the couples had stayed at homes found on VRBO and we put them in charge of finding a suitable house to rent. Mr. S. delivered in spades…he found a 4 bedroom/2 bathroom home on a private drive in Oakville (just south of St. Helena). The house called “Winemakers House” has a view that’s amazing. We found out that the home is surrounded by Robert Mondavi vineyards so the feeling of being in the wine country in our own home was wonderful.

The six of us decided to caravan in 2 cars packed with essentials we felt we needed for the weekend—we left at o’dark thirty (as hubby likes to say) on Friday. We had decided in advance we had to make a stop in Oakland at Bake Sale Betty’s for Alison Barakat’s (owner/founder) famous fried chicken sandwich. Worth the wait in line and the slight detour!

This is the view with your back to the vineyard---Winemakers House

Once we arrived at Winemakers House we worked on the centerpieces for the rehearsal dinner (a request by mother of the groom). Fresh sunflowers and wonderful vineyard vases made for a great table decoration!

Centerpiece for rehearsal dinner

We then dressed for the rehearsal dinner, hosted at Tri Vigne—about 15 minutes from our home.

The day of the wedding we visited St. Helena’s lovely little main street. {more details on this portion of the trip tomorrow} There are some wonderful shops and the weather was very comfortable—I believe it got into the high eighties but really felt perfect (maybe it has something to do with being on vacation).

Note: We choose not to visit any wineries that day knowing there would be plenty of wine at the wedding and dinner that followed.

The bride's colors were plum and a sage green, it is only coincidence that this guest had on a similar color and happened to get in the picture.

The wedding was held at V Sattui. I believe it’s a newer vineyard—in any case, the building was beautiful and the wedding was held outdoors in a stone courtyard. Above we were surrounded with flower boxes filled with ivy geranium, hydrangea and vines. I think this is one of the prettiest settings for a wedding I’ve ever attended.

This photograph doesn't do the flowers and vine justice, trust me...the setting was beautiful.

The reception was magical…it was held in a room with wine barrels on 3 of the 4 walls. There was a stone floor and overhead were rustic, iron chandeliers that were lit with candles. There were votive candle holders placed on the wine barrels at each opportunity and the effect was so beautiful.

On Sunday we visited one of our favorite wineries, Newton’s. The back story for Newton’s is too lengthy for me to send here but the overall story is that Sir Peter Newton started this winery and even after selling to a larger company have kept it small and boutique like, producing less cases per year than most larger wineries.

The tour itself includes the grounds, caves and a formal knot garden complete with fountain. They finish the tour with a sit-down tasting in the dining room, which enjoys a 180 degree view. Small plates of a variety of foods are presented with the various wines for taste-compatibility.

Monday we enjoyed a tour at Cakebread Cellers and Chimney Rock Winery. Each evening we brought wine, cheeses and artisan breads home for our appetizer hour, followed by a simple meal we all chipped in to prepare.

More wine country details tomorrow...I'm going to go in and enjoy a glass of wine with hubby now!

Mention of Napa Valley and the region by The Style Saloniste stayed in Healdsburg in what sounds like an incredible place…see her account of a beautiful weekend in this amazing part of the country.

More tomorrow on a few of the retail spots we visited during our stay in Napa Valley.

Real men do eat quiche

15 Wednesday Sep 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Entertaining, Food, Simple Meals for the Avid Cook

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

cooking, quiche

When Mr. B and I got married I knew I wanted to improve my cooking skills (if you can call the spaghetti recipe and country style ribs recipe skilled cooking). Mr. B had a vested interest in this goal as well.

The apartment complex we lived in brought in a cooking instructor and scheduled classes in our apartment club house. I can’t remember her name but her cooking school was called Bon Ton. A friend who speaks French said she thinks this might mean “good food”. I’d love to know—any French speaking readers out there? Let me know.

And despite the 1982 book authored by Bruce Feirstein, “Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche” Mr. B loves this recipe. I use a frozen pie crust, Marie Callendar and it is very flaky and delicious and EASY!

Yum...great with a mixed green salad!

Basic Cheese/Bacon Quiche

Eggs (Bon Ton Cooking School)

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Ingredients

3 eggs
1 ½ cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon salt
Pinch of nutmeg & pepper
1 cup cheddar, grated (or cheese of choice)
5 slices of bacon, cooked crisp, crumbled (more if you love bacon)
1 tablespoon butter
1 9” pie crust (I used Marie Callendar’s frozen pre-made crust)

Preparation Instructions

Pierce pie crust and add pie weights or dried beans (to keep crust from puffing up). Bake at 375° for 10 minutes. Cool slightly; add other ingredients, dot with butter and bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

A wedding shower and beautiful antiques, what more could a girl want?

30 Monday Aug 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Antiques, Decorating, Entertaining

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

accessories, antiques, Entertaining

I recently attended a wedding shower at a good friend’s home. We started with a choice of raspberry blini, Champagne and/or iced tea. (Who can pass up raspberry-anything?). The two hostesses did such a beautiful job with lunch (Mandarin chicken salad, fresh popovers and strawberry butter; killer cupcakes from a specialty bakery in Newport Beach called Susie Cakes). Due to my love of antiques and wonderful décor I failed to take pictures of the table with the fabulous meal, sorry.

An overview of Anne's living room

This print and wall sconce is in Anne's dining room.

The bride-to-be was in attendance with her mom and her maternal grandmother and all three women are delightful. It was also fun to see a few friends I haven’t seen in some time.

…but the best part for me was getting to visit my friend’s beautiful home. Anne has always had a way of creating a warm and welcoming ambiance while featuring amazing antique pieces and accessories. She graciously allowed me to shoot a few pictures and while this is but a sampling of her home, there are a couple of antique secretaries with an interesting story (that’s part of the fun in having antiques, right?).

Anne's antique Dutch secretary---this photo doesn't do it justice. I love the blue and white ginger jars on top.

Anne explained, “The Dutch secretary (below) is late eighteenth century (and should probably be in a museum some where) and was given to us by Marr’s grandmother whose father was an antique dealer in Los Angeles. It has beautiful inlaid marquetry of fruit woods into a walnut veneer. It is all original except for the brass hardware which was replaced many, many years ago. One of the fun things about it are the little wooden trays that pull out that would have been used to set candle holders on – simple eighteenth century lighting! When the doors on the upper portion are closed over the shelves you are able to see the fine marquetry work in all its glory”.

The finish on this English secretary is amazing. Antiques give any room a sense of history and provide a warm and welcoming look, don't you think?

The English secretary (above) is as beautiful as the Dutch piece and stands out in Anne’s living room. It has such a wonderful story as Anne shares, “The English secretary is, I believe, from the Sheraton period and is all in original condition including the glass. The only change made to this piece was also the hardware – also done many years prior to our ownership. We bought this piece from an estate sale when we were first married. The woman who had the sale owned an enormous, beautiful old home in the Hollywood Hills. Her husband had been in the film industry in Hollywood and had passed on. She was, at that time, quite advanced in years and was selling the contents of her home and moving to Paris to spend her remaining years. She had a companion secretary that was just like the one we bought but a bit larger, and that was the only piece she was moving with her to France. I wish now that I had taken time to know her story more thoroughly, I think there was quite an interesting life history there”.

This little painting (left) catches your eye when you pass it and I had to ask Anne if the artist was famous, she explained, “The little seaside painting is one I gave ML (Anne’s hubby) for his birthday some years ago. It is by a local artist but I don’t know anything about the person. I liked it because you could almost feel the windy day and smell the salty air from the way the artist painted it. I also liked the people in their nineteenth century dress standing on the shore and looking out to sea”.

The painting above the mantle has a story as well---if I remember correctly, Anne's grandma purchased this little painting at Harrod's when she was young. I love the art in Anne's house---she has such an artistic flair.

Her kitchen looks very European---quite an accomplishment when you think about the tract look all of these houses originally featured.

Dining room.

Trader Joe’s — Theo Albrecht, RIP

25 Wednesday Aug 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Entertaining, Food, Simple Meals for the Avid Cook

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recipes, Trader Joe's

As some of you may know I love Trader Joe’s. When I posted this, I mistakenly thought the market was unique to the western United States. As it turns out there are 340+ locations in 25 states, including Washington D.C.

You can search their website for additional recipes and/or visit a Trader Joe's near you...no, I don't get paid to advertise. I just believe they have such good service and their products and recipes have made meals (when you don't feel like cooking) easy!

Trader Joe’s was founded in 1958 and it has an interesting history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trader_Joe’s but in 1979 Theo Albrecht purchased the chain, and as co-owner the store has grown and received a nod from Consumer Reports ranking it 2^nd Best Supermarket in the U.S. By the way, Albrecht is my maiden name; do you think Theo could be a distant cousin?

Trader Joes has new items in their store and so that you are encouraged to try them they often have a sample chef cooking and tempting shoppers.

Theo Albrecht passed away a few weeks ago at the age of 88. I’m sure there is an excellent team of people in charge and Trader Joe’s will continue to provide delicious food that makes entertaining and meal preparation easier, but I did want to take this opportunity to share a bit of history in memory of Theo Albrecht and his involvement with Trader Joe’s as well as a copy of this easy and delicious soup. I picked up this recipe from their sample chef and have used it many times.

Trader Joe’s Easy Vegetable Soup

Soup

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Ingredients

2 onions, chopped
½ bag frozen 3 pepper medley (available at TJs/frozen food)
1 tablespoon Trader Joe’s crushed garlic (or substitute fresh garlic)
1 package Yves veggie ground round (available at TJs or substitute ground round)
1 28-ounce can red & green pepper marinara (TJs)
1 can bean medley (drained and rinsed – TJs)
1 32-ounce Organic veggie broth (TJs)
2 tablespoons of Tomato splash seasoning (TJs
Salt and pepper to taste

Note that all of these items are available at Trader Joe’s but if you don’t have a TJs nearby you can substitute.

Preparation Instructions

Place all ingredients in a large stock pot and simmer for 5 minutes. When you prepare this using the TJs items it is vegetarian, vegan, low fat and low sodium…and delicious

Serves 8-10

Simple Summer Meal

20 Friday Aug 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Dessert, Entertaining, Food, Simple Meals for the Avid Cook

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Entertaining, recipes, tablesettings

I live in Southern California and somehow we were cheated our summer! To be perfectly honest, I don’t miss the heat, but the sunshine, which SoCal is known for, is missing as well. We get a burst of it sometime around 1:00 PM daily but honestly, is there anything better than waking up to a sunny morning?

So, I decided I needed to move my casual dinner for good friends indoors on Saturday evening. We enjoyed our appetizer in the atrium and found it was relaxing and comfortable—but the idea of sitting on the patio for dinner seemed out of the question. Its August for goodness sake! We shouldn’t have to worry about cold this time of year.

My menu was: Appetizer: Skewered Greek Salad by Giada De Laurentis, roasted almonds. Dinner: Grilled Citrus Salmon (recipe below), Roasted Baby Potatoes with Herbs (Giada De Laurentis) and Barefoot Contessa’s Panzanella (from her Parties cookbook/her 2nd) and Dessert: Mocha Alaska Pie (recipe below).

This is delicious and easy and you can assemble the skewers the morning of the dinner. Thanks to my friend Alison at paper{whites} for introducing me to this recipe.

Sorry for the slightly blurred picture.

This picture doesn't do this recipe justice---I really have to learn to take better photographs of food.

Since dessert was my favorite part of this particular meal I thought I’d start with that recipe: Note, I couldn’t find my pie plate (I’m wondering if I got rid of the Corning pie plate in anticipation of purchasing an Emile Henri pie dish from Williams Sonoma, and then never got around to it?!) In any event, I prepared this recipe and put it in a glass loaf pan—it really looked nice and the taste certainly didn’t suffer. So here goes, super easy:

Mocha Alaska Pie (Loaf)

Mix:

1 cup finely crushed chocolate cookie crumbs (I used chocolate cat cookies from Trader Joe’s in the food processor and made crumbs).

¼ cup butter, melted

1 tablespoon sugar

Press into the bottom of a 9” pie dish or a Pyrex loaf pan or (if you use a loaf pan, generously line the bottom and side of the pan with plastic wrap so that when you are ready to remove the dessert you can get it out of the loaf pan without problem, you will not be able to bake it using this method but it didn’t seem to matter. The crust held together perfectly and tasted delicious)

If you use a pie plate you can bake the crust for 10 minutes at 350° then cool completely.

Meanwhile, let ice cream sit on counter for about 10-15 minutes to soften slightly.

1 pint of coffee ice cream (you can substitute the coffee ice cream with chocolate if you don’t like coffee flavor)

1 pint of vanilla ice cream

1 jar of hot fudge sauce

Once the ice cream has softened spoon the coffee ice cream over the crust and press to even it out. Then repeat with the vanilla ice cream. Freeze.

Just before serving add hot fudge sauce over top and serve—yummy! If you wanted to kick it up another notch you could roast almonds and sprinkle those over the top of the fudge.

Grilled Citrus Salmon (recipe from a 2004 Bon Appetit magazine)

Serves 6

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 dashes ground red pepper (cayenne)

2 dashes salt

1 teaspoon dried basil (fresh can be substituted)

2 teaspoons capers

3 pounds salmon, fresh, cut into serving size portions

In a small saute pan over medium heat, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, butter, mustard, garlic, red pepper, salt, basil and capers. While stirring, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Place salmon pieces skin side down on a piece of heavy duty foil with the edges folded up to make a pan. Pour the sauce evenly over the fish.

Prepare your BBQ to medium fire/heat. Place the foil pan (with fish) on the grill and cover with a lid. Barbecue for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness of serving portions. The fish will be light pink and flaky when cooked.

More recipes next week.

Recipe of the week: In-n-Out Burger

13 Friday Aug 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Food

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

In-N-Out Burger, recipes

If you love good burgers (and who doesn't?) this truly is delicious!

With my commitment to more recipes I am posting one that some of my more sensible friends won’t want to try—I mean, does this look healthy, low calorie or low fat? And they (smart friends that I know) would be right, that the answer to the above questions are, no, no and no. But I’m here to tell you, this is worth extra time on the elliptical machine or jogging track!

I prepared the recipe (link) after Son #2 requested it. {I love it when my family requests a specific recipe!} It later appeared on Son #1’s blog site so it must be a hot ticket item on the web.

Hubby, Son #2 and I all agree, it really does taste like In-N-Out (for those of you east of Utah, this is a small, family owned burger stand that has been around since 1948 and their burgers are legend! They now have over 200 locations and when you drive by they always have a line at the drive-thru.

Note, it’s important (I believe) to have your butcher grind the chuck roast for these, as the recipe calls for—my market butcher was happy to accommodate my request. Also, Ore-Ida makes some frozen fries called “Fast Food Fries” and they were a pretty good side for these delicious burgers.

So lace up your jogging shoes and once you’ve tried this recipe you can run off the calories!

More recipes please!

04 Wednesday Aug 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Dessert, Drink, Entertaining, Food, Simple Meals for the Avid Cook

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

cooking, recipes

For those of you who have read my site, thank you Carla, Linda, Cayley, Darlene and Helen, you may know that my inspiration for starting Garden, Home and Party was the compliment and prompting by Son #1 and the ongoing encouragement of Son #2 and hubby.

I posted this recipe for my 'favorite recipe for English Scones', but my photo doesn't do these sweet, buttery scones justice.

Best Scones recipe HERE

That said, it’s been so much fun writing about the decor of various rooms in the house (any house), the maintenance and planting of my garden and the entertaining aspect—preparing recipes and setting tables, that I guess I’ve not posted as much about cooking/recipes as I thought I would.

Rooms draw my attention, sometimes more than food!

So it was with some interest when Son #2 commented on a recent post that he thought I should blog more recipes. It could be a ‘guy’ thing. Food is infinitely more interesting to the men in my life than the decor of our home, or any home for that matter. Since I take terrible food pictures he suggested that: a) I work on my food photography and b) link to recipes that I’ve found and tried from other sites.

So here goes:

One of my favorite sites for delicious and sometimes easy recipes is Pioneer Woman. The other day she had a recipe called Grilled Chicken with Lemon-Basil Pasta. We had a dear friend over last evening for dinner and I prepared this recipe. It was a hit and very easy. I prepared warm baguette with butter and a spinach salad for the sides. Hubby grilled the chicken and the pasta came together easy-peasy. Please click on the link below to view the incredible pictures of each and every step of the recipe. You will love this site and I’m sure you will enjoy this recipe.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/07/grilled-chicken-with-lemon-basil-pasta/

Cooking at the Library

30 Friday Jul 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Entertaining, Food, Simple Meals for the Avid Cook

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cooking, easy recipes

Our public library has started a new program where they host a well-known chef who presents a lecture and demonstration on cooking. My good friend, Cayley, invited me to join her for the Tuesday lecture featuring Chef Cathy Thomas.

Cathy is very entertaining and her recipes are always tasty.

I won’t go into the details about Chef Cathy’s rich history and wonderful reputation as a fabulous cook (you can Google her) but I will share that she has a new cookbook on the market called, “Everyday Cooking with Organic Produce“. Cathy teamed with Melissa’s (a grower of organic fruits and vegetables that provides produce to most of our local markets) in writing this book. The recipes are delicious and really easy—necessary criteria for summer cooking.

Cathy's cookbook is available at Amazon

You will love how delicious and easy this salad is!

Mediterranean Vegetables and Orzo Salad – Yield 6 servings

8 ounces orzo (rice shaped pasta)1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium yellow crookneck squash; trimmed, diced
2 medium zucchini squash; trimmed, diced
1/2 large red onion; finely diced
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, diced
1 cup grape tomatoes or cherry, halved lengthwise

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Minced zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley

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4 cups washed baby spinach or mixed baby greens
1 ounce salami, cut into 1/8-inch dice (may be omitted if meatless dish is preferred)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup drained olives, such as kalamata or Nicoise

1. Bring large pot of water to boil on high heat. Add 1 teaspoon salt and orzo; cook until al dente. Drain, refresh with cold water. Drain and toss with 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil. Set aside.

2. Place squash, red onion, bell pepper and tomatoes in large bowl. Gently toss. In small bowl or 4-cup measuring cup with handle, combine zest, juice, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt, pepper and parsley. Stir to thoroughly combine. Pour onto vegetables and toss. Add orzo and toss. Taste and adjust seasonings.

3. Divide spinach between 6 small plates. Top with vegetable-orzo mixture. Sprinkle each serving with diced salami and crumble feta on top. Place a small pile of olives off to the side of each salad.

and to accompany this delicious salad…

Wraps are excellent for picnics due to their compact size and portability, no soggy bread to worry about.

Tortilla Wraps with Cabbage and Sweet-Spicy Asian Dressing

Dressing:

1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Zest of 1 orange, about 1 tablespoon
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/8 teaspoon dried chili flakes

Wrap:

4 large tortillas
1 cup shredded green cabbage
1 cup shredded red cabbage
1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked, cooled, cut into thin strips
1 cup sno peas, strings removed, each cut into 3 lengthwise strips
1/4 cup shredded, peeled daikon (Japanese radish)
1 medium avocado, peeled, pitted, cut into 1/4-inch wide lengthwise strips
4 green onions, roots trimmed, halved lengthwise
4-6 sprigs of cilantro (or Italian parsley if you prefer)
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Place dressing ingredients in small bowl; stir to combine

2. Spread enough dressing on one tortilla to thinly coat entire surface. Place 1/4 of cabbage on lower half of tortilla; place 1/4 of each remaining ingredient on top of cabbage, adding salt and pepper to taste. Roll up as tight as possible; starting at lower edge, folding over ends to (tuck in contents) half way through rolling up tortilla. Give it a gentle push to seal. Cut in half crosswise and place on plate. Repeat process for remaining tortillas.

I know these recipes appear to be long but they are super easy and would be great for a picnic. Happy Summer.

Outdoor Living – Living Room or Dining Room

28 Wednesday Jul 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Entertaining, Outdoor living

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

furniture, Outdoor living, Patio dining

This looks like it could be inviting for entertaining guests as well as a relaxing place to read.

Our patio is not very large (10′ x 18′ where the patio table is set up) and while I realize I don’t need a huge patio I’m facing a quandary and I’d love your help. OR, I just need to ponder it via this venue to help sort it out myself. 🙂

My furniture has grayed nicely. It would be nice if the chairs worked without threat to life and limb!

The candles in the lanterns are the battery operated kind; they are made with real wax but the flame is a flickering light bulb---pretty fun, right?

I don’t expect to be able to start a new project this summer but since I enjoy dreaming, especially where ‘home improvements’ are concerned, I thought I’d give this topic some attention—if you only have room for ONE set of furniture do you prefer a living room space or a dining room space outdoors?

Hubby wouldn't go for these chairs but isn't this great?! I love the outdoor chandelier.

My first choice would be BOTH, yes, that’s right, I want it all! But now that I’ve grown older and wiser I realize that’s not going to be my reality.

I think this would a great place to dine during the warmer months of the year.

...but then I think this would be so comfortable and inviting.

I confess that one of my favorite things about summer used to be dining al fresco. That all changed about 3 years ago when we purchased this teak-like patio set from Costco.

If we're going to dream, why not dream big, right? I would love an outdoor fireplace, then you could use the outdoor room year round.

I don’t mind the style but when we got the set home and assembled we discovered the chairs are impossibly heavy and almost impossible to slide. We have tried all manner of items sold at the home improvement warehouse stores to assist with this problem, to no avail. In fact, the chairs not only don’t slide on the concrete, they collapse when you try to scoot them close to the table—you see the design is meant to have the chairs recline if you choose (what were they thinking, right?).

I'm not sure why I gravitate towards this outdoor wicker but I seem to have a lot of pictures of outdoor rooms featuring it.

This has seriously hampered my enthusiasm for dining (not to mention entertaining) outdoors.

Maybe if I put in some kind of concrete/stone pad in the corner of our yard, I could create this setting and save the patio for dining.

So, do I replace the chairs, which I could do or do I chuck the entire set and go for this fabulous outdoor wicker that could create a cozy and inviting space to enjoy reading, relaxing, sipping wine, entertaining? This would leave me without a spot to dine outdoors, would I miss this little luxury of summer?